The 2024 CELEHS/HMS Data Science Summer Program kicked off the week before last. It started with an orientation at the Countway Library to introduce this year’s 24 campers to each other and to the upcoming program. Then students jumped right in to learning Python, and constructing their self-driving cars.
Lectures this year on machine learning and AI are being given by Biostats alum and Assistant Professor of Statistical Sciences at the University of Toronto Jesse Gronsbell, Assistant Professor of Biomedical Informatics at the Harvard Medical School Marinka Zitnik, and program PI, Professor of Biostatistics Tianxi Cai.
Students are learning Python programming with the support of HMS Berkowitz postdoctoral fellow Michele Li. Visiting PhD student Hongyi Yuan and Harvard junior Emily Gao are also leading exercises in programming and machine learning and support students with the construction of toy cars.
The lunch hour which features speakers who discuss their career paths in data science, is a perennial favorite among camp participants. This year, the roster includes Biostats alumni Layla Parast, currently Associate Professor in Statistics and Data Sciences at the University of Texas in Austin and Larry Han, Assistant Professor of Public Health and Health Sciences at Northeastern University.
Stay tuned for developments as the students program their cars to self-drive!
